


Ten Thousand Years

by Lothirielswan



Category: World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft - Various Authors
Genre: Azeroth, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:01:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23518873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lothirielswan/pseuds/Lothirielswan
Summary: During Illidan's long imprisonment, he ponders what is next to come.
Kudos: 7





	Ten Thousand Years

~Illidan Stormrage~

Time was a curse. Life was an insult.

I paced the small length of the prison. Nine steps. That was all it took. In the end, the steps meant nothing: the spells that bound me to this endless night wouldn't allow the luxury of withering away. The steps were an illusion, a sense of purpose. 

Purpose. . .meaning. . .nothing. 

I turned on the ninth step, and repeated my labor across the cell. The echo of footsteps filled the void of silence. 

Illusions were all I had, so I let myself live in one. Something that would satisfy…

Elves were immortal; we excelled in ways to purge time. There were two common ways of doing so: find love, or find purpose. I had learned the lesson of love: that it was fruitless. It was a wound that could not be cleansed. It lingered and festered. Empathy led to irrationality, and there was little resistance. In the face of burdened solitude and darkness, love was also a curse.

I spun on my heel. The echo sounded like swords linking together. 

I turned my attention to purpose. It was a less complicated way of existence. Easy to follow. Like nine steps. They were clear before me. They could not be denied. 

I craved purpose. Significance. If there were any true meaning to life, it should be something that mattered. Noble, even. A just cause. 

For centuries, I devoted my life to my people. That devotion was fruitless and treacherous. My life had been reduced to nine steps in darkness, restrained by magical energies. I had no desire to revisit that purpose. 

If I valued anything, it was sorcery. There was no denying its importance: it was the secret to how the world worked. I would not deny that the making of a second Well of Eternity was an exciting project—but those energies were lost now. Locked away, like I was. Out of reach. If that was to be my purpose, it would be more tortuous than time. There had to be other just causes!

Defeating the Legion was a purpose. 

_The Legion._

My fingers unconsciously crawled up to my eyes, where the two sockets lay empty, but there was no true abyss. The Legion still reigned across the cosmos, raging it's eternal conquest. The Legion was a constant—like time. A constant curse.

A purpose that would not wither. A purpose that was just. A purpose that promised _revenge_. 

The next step I took was slightly quicker than the last. The Legion was the beginning of this long, eternal nightmare. This purpose had promise. How would I defy something that ravaged worlds? I would have to leave Azeroth, that was one. I needed allies, I needed a foothold. . .

I smiled. Time had bestowed a gift.

Opportunity.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: Hi Awesome Adventurers! Thanks for joining us with this little drabble. We've all feeling a little trapped lately, and Illidan's been there before.
> 
> Illidan Stormrage: I take no pleasure in it. And I'll wait out this disease on Outland until Azeroth sorts itself once more.
> 
> Author: Illidan is one of my faves, and it's still going to be a while until I introduce him in either of my WoW fics, so I thought we could all indulge together c: but now that I created this little one-shot, I'm wondering if we would want to expand this and make this into a collection of one-shots for Warcraft characters, illustrating specific moments we didn't get to see. Idk if anyone would be interested in that, I'd love to hear what you think! Until then, stay safe, and have an amazing day full of love, fortune, and glory!!


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